Should we be ashamed of ourselves? Two apparently unrelated events involving the Royal Family are the subject of extensive news coverage and some far-fetched theories.
Double royal riddle sparks fever of theories
Curious: Yesterday’s Mail splash “Day of royal tragedy and drama” launched wild speculation. Glossary
Buckingham Palace - The home of Britain's king or queen.
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - Prince Michael of Kent was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as being a first cousin of Prince Philip's mother.
Diplomat - An official representing a country abroad.
Baghdad - A city in Iraq built by the Abbasids. It remains the capital of Iraq today.
King Constantine of Greece - The last king of Greece. He reigned from 1964 until the Greek monarchy was abolished in 1973.
Libellous - False written statements about a person.
Conspiracy theories - Theories that explain world events by blaming shady groups of powerful people operating in secret. Some conspiracy theories have a basis in fact, but many more of them are completely invented. What is more, they often play on dangerous prejudices such as antisemitism. It's worth being especially cautious and critical when you come across accounts that ascribe enormous agency to small and secretive groups.
Elizabeth I - The Tudor Queen of England from 1558 to 1603.
Queen Victoria - The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901. Her reign is known as the Victorian era.
Jack the Ripper - A serial killer in Victorian London who savagely murdered at least five women. The case intrigued the press and it received a great deal of coverage.
Christopher Hitchens - A British author and journalist.
Salacity - The state of being salacious - i.e. being obscene or overly interested in sexual matters.